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TheBattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith
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Title: TheBattleofNewOrleans including the Previous Engagements between the Americans and the British,
the Indians and the Spanish which led to the Final Conflict on the 8th of January, 1815
Author: Zachary F. Smith
Release Date: June 5, 2008 [EBook #25699]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Produced by Irma Špehar, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
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[Illustration: Z.F. SMITH.
Member ofthe Filson Club]
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 1
FILSON CLUB PUBLICATIONS No. 19
THE
Battle ofNew Orleans
INCLUDING THE
Previous Engagements between the Americans and the British, the Indians, and the Spanish which led to the
Final Conflict on the 8th of January, 1815
BY
ZACHARY F. SMITH
Member ofThe Filson Club and Author of a History of Kentucky and School Editions ofthe same
Illustrated
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY JOHN P. MORTON & COMPANY PRINTERS TO THE FILSON CLUB 1904
COPYRIGHTED BY The Filson Club and All Rights Reserved 1904
PREFACE
In the preparation ofthe following account ofthe "Battle ofNew Orleans," I have availed myself of all
accessible authorities, and have been placed under obligations to Colonel R.T. Durrett, of Louisville,
Kentucky. I have had free access to his library, which is the largest private collection in this country, and
embraces works upon almost every subject. Besides general histories ofthe United States and of the
individual States, and periodicals, newspapers, and manuscripts, which contain valuable information on the
battle ofNew Orleans, his library contains numerous works more specifically devoted to this subject. Among
these, to which I have had access, may be mentioned Notices ofthe War of 1812, by John M. Armstrong, two
volumes, New York, 1840; The Naval History of Great Britain from 1783 to 1830, by Edward P. Brenton, two
volumes, London, 1834; History ofthe Late War, by H.M. Brackenridge, Philadelphia, 1839; An Authentic
History ofthe Second War for Independence, by Samuel R. Brown, two volumes, Auburn, 1815; History of
the Late War by an American (Joseph Cushing), Baltimore, 1816; Correspondence between General Jackson
and General Adair as to the Kentuckians charged by Jackson with inglorious flight, New Orleans, 1815; An
Authentic History ofthe Late War, by Paris M. Davis, New York, 1836; A Narrative ofthe Campaigns of the
British Army by an Officer (George R. Gleig), Philadelphia, 1821; History of Louisiana, American Dominion,
by Charles Gayarre, New York, 1866; The Second War with England, illustrated, by J.T. Headley, two
volumes, New York, 1853; History ofthe War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, by
Rossiter Johnson, New York, 1882; The Pictorial Field-book ofthe War of 1812, by Benjamin J. Lossing,
New York, 1868; The War of 1812 in the Western Country, by Robert B. McAfee, Lexington, Kentucky,
1816; Historical Memoirs ofthe War of 1814-1815, by Major A. Lacarriere Latour, Philadelphia, 1816;
Messages of James Madison, President ofthe United States, parts one and two, Albany, 1814; The Military
Heroes ofthe War of 1812, by Charles J. Peterson, Philadelphia, 1858; The Naval War of 1812, by Theodore
Roosevelt, New York, 1889; The History ofthe War of 1812-15, by J. Russell, junior, Hartford, 1815; The
Glory of America, etc., by R. Thomas, New York, 1834; Historic Sketches ofthe Late War, by John L.
Thomson, Philadelphia, 1816; The Life of Andrew Jackson, by Alexander Walker, Philadelphia, 1867; A Full
and a Correct Account ofthe Military Occurrences ofthe Late War between Great Britain and the United
States, by James Williams, two volumes, London, 1818.
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 2
I have also been placed under obligations to Mr. William Beer, librarian ofthe Howard Library of New
Orleans, which has become a depository of rare works touching the history ofthe South Mississippi Valley,
and especially relating to the War of 1812 and thebattleofNew Orleans. A list of all the works in this library
which Mr. Beer placed at my disposal would be too long for insertion here, but the following may be
mentioned: Claiborne's Notes on the War in the South, Goodwin's Biography of Andrew Jackson, Reid and
Easten's Life of General Jackson, Nolte's Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres, Report of Committee on Jackson's
Warrant for Closing the Halls ofthe Legislature of Louisiana, The Madison Papers, Ingersoll's Historic Sketch
of the Second War between Great Britain and the United States, Cooke's Seven Campaigns in the Peninsula,
Hill's Recollections of an Artillery Officer, Coke's History ofthe Rifle Brigade, Diary of Private Timewell,
and Cooke's Narrative of Events. No one would do justice to himself or his subject if he should write a history
of thebattleofNewOrleans without availing himself ofthe treasures ofthe Howard Library.
Z.F. SMITH.
INTRODUCTION
England was apparently more liberal than Spain or France when, in the treaty of 1783, she agreed to the
Mississippi River as the western boundary ofthe United States. Spain was for limiting the territory ofthe new
republic on the west to the crest ofthe Alleghany Mountains, so as to secure to her the opportunity of
conquering from England the territory between the mountains and the Great River. Strangely enough and
inconsistently enough, France supported Spain in this outrageous effort to curtail the territory ofthe new
republic after she had helped the United States to conquer it from England, or rather after General Clark had
wrested it from England for the colony of Virginia, and while Virginia was still in possession of it. The
seeming liberality of England, however, may not have been more disinterested than the scheming of Spain and
France in this affair. England did not believe that the United States could exist as a permanent government,
but that the confederated States would disintegrate and return to her as colonies. The King of England said as
much when the treaty was made. If, then, the States were to return to England as colonies, the more territory
they might bring with them the better, and hence a large grant was acknowledged in the treaty of peace. The
acts of England toward the United States after acknowledging their independence indicate that the fixing of
the western boundary on the Mississippi had as much selfishness as liberality, if indeed it was not entirely
selfish.
The ink was scarcely dry upon the parchment which bore evidence ofthe ratified treaty of 1783 when the
mother country began acts of hostility and meanness against her children who had separated from her and
begun a political life for themselves. When the English ships of war, which had blockaded New York for
seven long years, sailed out ofthe harbor and took their course toward the British Isles, instead of hauling
down their colors from the flagstaff of Fort George, they left them flying over the fortification, and tried to
prevent them from being removed by chopping down all the cleats for ascent, and greasing the pole so that no
one could climb to the top and pull down the British flag or replace it by the colors ofthe United States. An
agile sailor boy, named Van Arsdale, who had probably ascended many trees in search of bird's nests, and
clambered up the masts of ships until he had become an expert climber, nailed new cleats to the flagstaff and
climbed to its summit, bearing with him the flag ofthenew republic. When he reached the top he cut down
the British flag and suspended that ofthe United States. This greasy trick may have been the act of some wag
of the retiring fleet, and might have been taken for a joke had it not been followed by hostile acts which
indicated that this was the initial step in a long course of hostility and meanness.
But it was soon followed by the retention ofthe lake forts which fell into British hands during the
Revolutionary War, and which, by the terms ofthe treaty, were to be surrendered. Instead of surrendering
them according to the stipulations ofthe treaty, they held them, and not only occupied them for thirteen years,
but used them as storehouses and magazines from which the Indians were fed and clothed and armed and
encouraged to tomahawk and scalp Americans without regard to age or sex. And then followed a series of
orders in council, by which the commerce ofthe United States was almost swept from the seas, and their
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 3
sailors forcibly taken from American ships to serve on British. These orders in council were so frequent that it
seemed as if the French on one side ofthe British Channel and the English on the other were hurling decrees
and orders at one another for their own amusement while inflicting dire injuries on other nations, and
especially the Americans.
Had it not been for these hostile acts ofthe British there would have been no War of 1812. Had they continued
to treat the young republic with the justice and liberality to which they agreed in fixing its western boundary
in the treaty of 1783, no matter what their motive may have been, there would have been no cause for war
between the two countries. The Americans had hardly recovered from the wounds inflicted in the
Revolutionary War. They were too few and too weak and too poor to go to war with such a power as England,
and moreover wanted a continuance ofthe peace by which they were adding to the population and wealth of
their country. What they had acquired in the quarter of a century since the end ofthe Revolutionary War was
but little in comparison with the accumulations of England during long centuries, and they were not anxious
to risk their all in a conflict with such a power; but young and weak and few as they were, they belonged to
that order of human beings who hold their rights and their honor in such high regard that they can not
continuously be insulted and injured without retaliation. The time came when they resolved to bear the
burdens of war rather than submit to unjustice and dishonor.
In the French and Indian war which preceded the Revolution there was fighting for some time before a formal
declaration of war. The English drove the French traders from the Ohio Valley, and the French forced out the
English while the two nations were at peace. The French chassed from one of their forts to another with
fiddles instead of drums, and the English with fowling-pieces instead of muskets rambled over the forest, but
they sometimes met and introduced each other to acts of war while a state of hostility was acknowledged by
neither. Something like a similar state of things preceded the War of 1812. Tecumseh was at work trying to
unite all the tribes of Indians in one grand confederacy, ostensibly to prevent them from selling their lands to
the Americans, but possibly for the purpose of war. While he was at this work his brother, the Prophet, had
convinced the Indians that he had induced the Great Spirit to make them bullet-proof, and the English so
encouraged them with food and clothing and arms that they believed they were able to conquer the
Americans, and began to carry on hostilities against them without any formal declaration of war by either
party. Thebattleof Tippecanoe, which came of this superstition among the Indians and this encouragement
from England, may be considered the first clash of arms in the War of 1812. The English took no open or
active part in this battle, but their arms and ammunition and rations were in it, and after it was lost the Indians
went to the English and became their open allies when the War of 1812 really began. Whether the English
were allies ofthe Indians or the Indians allies ofthe English, they fought and bled and died and were
conquered together after the initial conflict at Tippecanoe, in 1811, to the final battle at NewOrleans in 1815,
which crowned the American arms with a glory never to fade.
The Filson Club, whose broad field of work in history, literature, science, and art is hardly indicated by the
name ofthe first historian of Kentucky, which it bears, has deemed three ofthe battles which were fought
during the War of 1812 as the most important ofthe many that were waged. These three were, first, the battle
of Tippecanoe, regarded as the opening scene ofthe bloody drama; second, thebattleofthe Thames, by which
the power ofthe British was crushed in the west and northwest, and third, thebattleofNew Orleans, which
ended the war in a glorious victory for the Americans. The Club determined to have the history of these three
battles written and filed among its archives, and to have the matter published for the benefit ofthe public.
Hence, the task was undertaken by three different members ofthe Club.
The first of these, "The Battleof Tippecanoe," was prepared for the Club by Captain Alfred Pirtle, and
published in 1900 as Filson Club Publication Number 15. It is an illustrated quarto of one hundred and
sixty-seven pages, which gives a detailed account ofthebattleof Tippecanoe and the acts ofthe Indians and
British which led to it and the important consequences which followed. The names ofthe officers and
soldiers, and especially those of Kentucky who were engaged in it, are given so far as could be ascertained,
and the book is a historic record of this battle, full enough and faithful enough to furnish the reader with all of
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 4
the important facts.
The second, "The Battleofthe Thames," the 5th of October, 1813, was undertaken by Colonel Bennett H.
Young, and appeared in 1903 as the eighteenth publication ofthe Filson Club. It is an elaborately illustrated
quarto of two hundred and eighty-six pages, and presents a detailed account ofthe acts which led up to the
main battle and the engagements by land and water which preceded it. It contains a list of all the Kentuckians
who as officers and privates were in the battle. The reader who seeks information about this battle need look
no further than its pages.
The third and last of these important battles occurred at NewOrleansthe 8th of January, 1815. Its history was
prepared for the Club by Mr. Z.F. Smith, and now appears as Filson Club Publication Number Nineteen, for
the year 1904. It is an illustrated quarto in the adopted style ofthe Club, which has been so much admired for
its antique paper and beautiful typography. It sets forth with fullness and detail the hostilities which preceded
and led to the main battle, and gives such a clear description ofthe final conflict by the assistance of charts as
to enable the reader to understand the maneuvers of both sides and to virtually see thebattle as it progressed
from the beginning to the end. This battle ended the War of 1812, and when the odds against the Americans
are considered, it must be pronounced one ofthe greatest victories ever won upon the battlefield. The author,
Mr. Z.F. Smith, was an old-line Whig, and was taught to hate Jackson as Henry Clay, the leader ofthe Whigs,
hated him, but he has done the old hero full justice in this narrative, and has assigned him full honors of one
of the greatest victories ever won. Although his sympathies were with General Adair, a brother Kentuckian,
he takes up the quarrel between him and General Jackson and does Jackson full and impartial justice. If
Jackson had been as unprejudiced against Adair as the author against Jackson, there would have been nothing
like a stain left upon the escutcheon ofthe Kentuckians who abandoned the fight on the west bank of the
Mississippi because it was their duty to get out of it rather than be slaughtered like dumb brutes who neither
see impending danger nor reason about the mistakes of superiors and the consequences. He who reads the
account ofthebattleofNewOrleans which follows this introduction will know more about that battle than he
knew before, or could have learned from any other source in so small a compass.
R.T. DURRETT,
President ofThe Filson Club.
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Author, Frontispiece
Seat of War in Louisiana and Florida, 8
Position ofthe American and British Armies near NewOrleans on the 8th of January, 1815, 24
Battle ofNew Orleans, on the 8th of January, 1815, 56
General Andrew Jackson, 72
General John Adair, 112
Governor Isaac Shelby, 164
Colonel Gabriel Slaughter, 174
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 5
THE BATTLEOFNEW ORLEANS
GULF COAST CAMPAIGN, PRECEDING THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
On the 26th of November, 1814, a fleet of sixty great ships weighed anchor, unfurled their sails, and put to
sea, as the smoke lifted and floated away from a signal gun aboard the Tonnant, the flagship of Admiral Sir
Alexander Cochrane, from Negril Bay, on the coast of Jamaica. Nearly one half of these vessels were
formidable warships, the best ofthe English navy, well divided between line-of-battle ships of sixty-four,
seventy-four, and eighty guns, frigates of forty to fifty guns, and sloops and brigs of twenty to thirty guns
each. In all, one thousand pieces of artillery mounted upon the decks of these frowned grimly through as many
port-holes, bidding defiance to the navies ofthe world and safely convoying over thirty transports and
provisioning ships, bearing every equipment for siege or battle by sea and for a formidable invasion of an
enemy's country by land. Admiral Cochrane, in chief command, and Admiral Malcombe, second in command,
were veteran officers whose services and fame are a part of English history.
On board of this fleet was an army and its retinue, computed by good authorities to number fourteen thousand
men, made up mainly ofthe veteran troops ofthe British military forces recently operating in Spain and
France, trained in the campaigns and battles against Napoleon through years of war, and victors in the end in
these contests. Major Latour, Chief Engineer of General Jackson's army, in his "Memoirs ofthe War in
Florida and Louisiana in 1814-15," has carefully compiled from British official sources a detailed statement of
the regiments, corps, and companies which constituted the army of invasion under Pakenham, at New
Orleans, as follows:
Fourth Regiment King's Own, Lieutenant-colonel Brooks 750
Seventh Regiment Royal Fusileers, Lieutenant-colonel Blakency 850
Fourteenth Regiment Duchess of York's Own, Lieutenant-colonel Baker 350
Twenty-first Regiment Royal Fusileers, Lieutenant-colonel Patterson 900
Fortieth Regiment Somersetshire, Lieutenant-colonel H. Thornton 1,000
Forty-third Regiment Monmouth Light Infantry, Lieutenant-colonel Patrickson 850
Forty-fourth Regiment East Essex, Lieutenant-colonel Mullen 750
Eighty-fifth Regiment Buck Volunteers, Lieutenant-colonel Wm. Thornton 650
Ninety-third Regiment Highlanders, Lieutenant-colonel Dale 1,100
Ninety-fifth Regiment Rifle Corps, Major Mitchell 500
First Regiment West India (colored), Lieutenant-colonel Whitby 700
Fifth Regiment West India (colored), Lieutenant-colonel Hamilton 700
A detachment from the Sixty-second Regiment 350
Rocket Brigade, Artillery, Engineers, Sappers and Miners 1,500
Royal Marines and sailors from the fleet 3,500 Total 14,450
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 6
Including artillerists, marines, and others, seamen ofthe ships' crews afloat, there were not fewer than
eighteen thousand men, veterans in the service of their country in the lines of their respective callings, to
complete the equipment of this powerful armada.
At the head of this formidable army of invasion were Lord Edward Pakenham, commander-in-chief;
Major-general Samuel Gibbs, commanding the first, Major-general John Lambert, the second, and
Major-general John Keene, the third divisions, supported by subordinate officers, than whom none living were
braver or more skilled in the science and practice of war. Nearly all had learned their lessons under the great
Wellington, the conqueror of Napoleon. Since 1588, when the combined naval and military forces of England
were summoned to repel the attempted invasion and conquest of that country by the Spanish Armada, the
British Government had not often fitted out and sent against an enemy a combined armament so powerful and
so costly as that which rendezvoused in the tropical waters of Negril Bay in the latter autumn days of 1814.
Even the fleet of Nelson at theBattleofthe Nile, sixteen years before, where he won victory and immortal
honors by the destruction ofthe formidable French fleet, was far inferior in number of vessels, in ordnance,
and in men to that of Admiral Cochrane on this expedition. The combined equipment cost England forty
millions of dollars.
In October and November of this year, the marshaling of belligerent forces by sea and land from the shores of
Europe and America, with orders to rendezvous at a favorable maneuvering point in the West Indies, caused
much conjecture as to the object in view. That the War Department ofthe English Government meditated a
winter campaign somewhere upon the southern coasts ofthe United States was a common belief; that an
invasion of Louisiana and the capture and occupation ofNewOrleans was meant, many surmised. For reasons
of State policy, the object ofthe expedition in view was held a secret until the day of setting sail. Now it was
disclosed by those in command that NewOrleans was the objective point, and officers and men were
animated with the hope that, in a few weeks more, they would be quartered for the winter in the subjugated
capital of Louisiana, with a dream that the coveted territory might be occupied and permanently held as a
possession ofthe British Empire.
The Government at Washington was advised that, during the summer and early autumn months of 1814, our
implacable enemy was engaged in preparations for a renewal of hostilities on a scale of magnitude and
activity beyond anything attempted since the war began; but it seemed not fully to interpret the designs and
plans ofthe British leaders. Especially unfortunate, and finally disastrous to the American arms, was the
inaptness and inertness ofthe Secretary of War, General Armstrong, in failing to adopt, promptly and
adequately, measures to meet the emergency. For almost a year after the destruction ofthe English fleet on
Lake Erie by Commodore Perry, and ofthe English army at thebattleofthe Thames by General Harrison, a
period of comparative repose ensued between the belligerents. The British Government was too much
absorbed in delivering the coup-de-main to the great Napoleon to give attention to America. But her
opportunity came. The allied powers defeated and decimated the armies ofthe French Emperor, and forced
him to capitulate in his own capital. On the 3d of March, 1814, they entered Paris. On the eleventh of May
Napoleon abdicated, and was sent an exile to Elba.
England was at peace with all Europe. Her conquering armies and fleets would be idle for an indefinite
period; yet, it would be premature to disband the former or to dismantle the latter. Naturally, attention turned
to the favorable policy of employing these vast and ready resources for the chastisement and humiliation of
her American enemies, as a fit closing ofthe war and punishment for their rebellious defiance. Under orders,
the troops in France and Spain were marched to Bordeaux and placed in a camp of concentration, from which
they were debarked in fleets down the river Garonne, and across the Atlantic to their destinations in America.
An English officer with these troops expressed the sentiment ofthe soldiers and seamen, and ofthe average
citizen of England at this time, in this language: "It was the general opinion that a large proportion of the
Peninsular army would be transported to the other side ofthe Atlantic, that the war would there be carried on
with vigor, and that no terms of accommodation would be listened to, except such as a British general should
dictate in the Republican Senate."
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 7
Overtures for the negotiation-of a treaty of peace had been interchanged between the two nations at war as
early as January. By April the American Commissioners were in Europe, though the arrival ofthe English
Commissioners at Ghent for final deliberations was delayed until August. Meanwhile, several thousands of
these Peninsular troops were transported to reinforce the army in Canada. On the sixteenth of August a small
fleet of British vessels in Chesapeake Bay was reinforced by thirty sail under the command of Admirals
Cochrane and Malcombe, one half of which were ships of war. A large part of this flotilla moved up the
Potomac and disembarked about six thousand men, under command of General Ross. Thebattle of
Bladensburg was fought on the twenty-fourth, followed immediately by the capture of Washington and the
burning ofthe Government buildings there. A few days after, the combined naval and military British forces
were defeated in an attack on Baltimore, General Ross, commander-in-chief, being among the slain. About the
same date, Commodore McDonough won a great and crushing victory over the English fleet on Lake
Champlain, while the British army of fourteen thousand men, under Sir George Prevost, was signally defeated
by the Americans, less than seven thousand in number, at Plattsburg, on the border ofNew York.
Such was the military situation in the first month of autumn, 1814. Seemingly, the British plenipotentiaries
had a motive in reserve for delaying the negotiations for peace. England yet looked upon the United States as
her wayward prodigal, and conjured many grievances against the young nation that had rebuked her cruel
insolence and pride in two wars. She nursed a spirit of imperious and bitter revenge. A London organ, recently
before, had said: "In diplomatic circles it is rumored that our military and naval commanders in America have
no power to conclude any armistice or suspension of arms. Terms will be offered to the American
Government at the point ofthe bayonet. America will be left in a much worse situation as a commercial and
naval power than she was at the commencement ofthe war."
[Illustration: SEAT OF WAR. LOUISIANA & FLORIDA]
The reverses to the British arms on Lake Champlain, at Plattsburg, and at Baltimore, virtually ended hostilities
in the Northern States for the remaining period ofthe war. Winter approaching, all belligerent forces that
could be marshaled would be transferred to the waters ofthe Gulf for operations on the coast there. The
malice and wanton barbarity ofthe English in burning the national buildings and property at Washington, in
the destruction and loot of houses, private and public, on the shores ofthe Chesapeake and Atlantic, and in
repeated military outrages unjustified by the laws of civilized warfare, had fully aroused the Government and
the citizenship to the adoption of adequate measures of defense for the Northern and Eastern States. It was too
late, however, to altogether repair the injuries done to the army ofthe Southwest by the tardiness and default
of the head ofthe War Department, which, as General Jackson said in an official report, threatened defeat and
disaster to his command at New Orleans. Indignant public sentiment laid the blame ofthe capture of
Washington, and ofthe humiliating disasters there, to the same negligence and default of this official, which
led to his resignation soon after.
GENERAL JACKSON ASSUMES COMMAND OFTHE SEVENTH MILITARY DISTRICT OF THE
SOUTHWEST.
General Andrew Jackson had, in July, 1814, been appointed a major-general in the United States army, and
assigned the command ofthe Southern department, with headquarters at Mobile. His daring and successful
campaigns against the Indian allies ofthe British the year previous had won for him the confidence of the
Government and ofthe people, and distinguished him as the man fitted for the emergency. At the beginning of
the war British emissaries busily sought to enlist, arm, and equip all the Indians ofthe Southern tribes whom
they could disaffect, as their allies, and to incite them to a war of massacre, pillage, and destruction against the
white settlers, as they did with the savage tribes north ofthe Ohio River. In this they were successfully aided
by Tecumseh, the Shawanee chief, and his brother, the Prophet. These were sons of a Creek mother and a
Shawanee brave. By relationship, and by the rude eloquence ofthe former and the mystic arts and incantations
of the latter, they brought into confederacy with Northern tribes which they had organized as allies of the
English in a last hope of destroying American power in the West almost the entire Creek nation. These
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 8
savages, though at peace under treaty and largely supported by the fostering aid of our Government, began
hostilities after their usual methods of indiscriminate massacre and marauding destruction, regardless of age
or sex or condition, against the exposed settlers. The latter sought refuge as they could in the rude stockade
stations, but feebly garrisoned. At Fort Mims, on the Alabama River, nearly three hundred old men and
women and children, with a small garrison of soldiers, were captured in a surprise attack by a large body of
warriors, and all massacred in cold blood. This atrocious outbreak aroused the country, and led to speedy
action for defense and terrible chastisement for the guilty perpetrators. The British officers offered rewards for
scalps brought in, as under Proctor in the Northwest, and many scalps of men and women murdered were
exchanged for this horrible blood-money.
In October, 1813, General Jackson led twenty-five hundred Tennessee militia, who had been speedily called
out, into the Creek country in Alabama. A corps of one thousand men from Georgia, and another of several
hundred from the territory of Mississippi, invaded the same from different directions. Sanguinary battles with
the savages were fought by Jackson's command at Tallasehatche, Talladega, Hillabee, Autosse, Emuckfau,
Tohopeka, and other places, with signal success to the American arms in every instance. The villages and
towns ofthe enemy were burned, their fields and gardens laid waste, and the survivors driven to the woods
and swamps. Not less than five thousand ofthe great Ocmulgee nation perished in this war, either in battle or
from the ruinous results of their treachery after. Nearly one thousand ofthe border settlers were sacrificed,
one half of whom were women and children or other non-combatants, the victims ofthe malignant designs
and arts of British emissaries. The chief ofthe Creeks sued for peace, and terms were negotiated by General
Jackson on the 14th of August, 1814.
From his headquarters at Mobile, in September, 1814, General Jackson, with sleepless vigilance, was
anticipating and watching the movements ofthe British upon the Gulf coast, and marshaling his forces to
resist any attack. There had been reported to him the arrival of a squadron of nine English ships in the harbor
of Pensacola. Spain was at peace with our country, and it was due that the Spanish commandant of Florida,
yet a province of Spain, should observe a strict neutrality pending hostilities. Instead of this comity of good
faith and friendship, the Spanish officials had permitted this territory to become a refuge for the hostile
Indians. Here they could safely treat with the British agents, from whom they received the implements of war,
supplies of food and clothing, and the pay and emoluments incident to their services as allies in war. In
violation ofthe obligations of neutrality, the Spanish officials not only tolerated this trespass on the territory
of Florida, but, truckling to the formidable power and prestige ofthe great English nation, they dared openly
to insult our own Government by giving aid and encouragement to our enemy in their very capital.
The most important and accessible point in Spanish Florida was Pensacola. Here the Governor, Gonzalez
Maurequez, held court and dispensed authority over the province. The pride ofthe Spaniards in the old
country and in Florida and Louisiana was deeply wounded over the summary sale ofthe territory of Louisiana
by Napoleon to the United States in 1803; recalling the compulsory cession ofthe same to France by Spain in
1800. Naturally they resented with spirit what they deemed an indignity to the honor and sovereignty of their
nation. The Spanish minister at Washington entered a solemn protest against the transaction; questions of
boundaries soon after became a continuing cause of irritating dispute. The Dons contended that all east of the
Mississippi River was Florida territory and subject to their jurisdiction. A military demonstration by General
Wilkinson, then in command ofthe army ofthe Southwest, was ordered from Washington, opposition awed
into silence, and the transfer made. In brief time after the boundaries of Florida were fixed on the thirty-first
degree of north latitude, and east of a line near to the present boundary between Louisiana and Mississippi.
Previously Mobile was the seat of government for Florida, but American aggression made the removal of the
Government to Pensacola compulsory, and gave an additional cause of grievance to our sensitive neighbors.
Under British auspices and promises of protection, the Governor displayed his resentment.
To confirm the report that came to him at Mobile ofthe arrival of an English squadron in Pensacola Bay, and
of treacherous aid and comfort being given by the Spanish Governor, Jackson sent as spies some friendly
Indians to the scene of operations, with instructions to furtively observe all that could be seen and known, and
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 9
report to him the information. It was confirmed that the ships were in the harbor, and that a camp of English
soldiers was in the town; that a considerable body of Indian recruits had been armed and were being drilled,
and that runners had been dispatched to the country to invite and bring others to the coast to join them as
comrades in arms. A few days after, a friendly courier brought news that several hundred marines had landed
from the ships, that Colonel Nichols in command and his staff were guests of Governor Maurequez, and that
the British flag was floating with the flag of Spain over one ofthe Spanish forts.
An order issued about this time by Colonel Nichols to his troops, followed by a proclamation to the people of
Louisiana and Kentucky, revealed in visible outlines something ofthe purposes and plans ofthe menacing
armaments. He advised his command that the troops would probably soon be called upon to endure long and
tedious marches through forests and swamps in an enemy's country, and exhorted them to conciliate their
Indian allies and "never to give them just cause of offense." He addressed the most inflammatory appeals to
the national pride and prejudices ofthe French people of Louisiana, and to supposed discontented citizens of
Kentucky, whose grievances had grown out of their neglect by the National Government or been engendered
by the arts of designing politicians and adventurers.
BATTLE AT MOBILE BAY THE BRITISH REPULSED.
General Jackson strongly suspected that Louisiana would be invaded, and that NewOrleans was designed to
be the main and final point of attack. Yet he was led to believe that the British would attempt the capture of
Mobile first, for strategic reasons. Early in September he reinforced the garrison of Fort Bowyer, situated
thirty miles south of Mobile. This fortification, mounting twenty cannon, commanded the entrance to the
harbor. It was garrisoned by one hundred and thirty men, under the command of Major William Lawrence. On
the fifteenth of September the attack was made by a squadron of four ships of war, assisted by a land force of
seven hundred marines and Indians. Though the enemy mounted ninety-two pieces of artillery, in the assault
made they were defeated and driven off to sea again, with a loss of two hundred killed and wounded, the
flagship ofthe commander sent to the bottom, and the remaining ships seriously damaged.
ASSAULT AND CAPTURE OF PENSACOLA, THE SPANISH CAPITAL OF FLORIDA THE BRITISH
DRIVEN TO SEA.
Incensed at the open and continued violations of neutrality by the Spanish Governor, who had permitted
Pensacola to be made a recruiting camp for the arming and drilling of their Indian allies by the British,
General Jackson determined to march his army against this seat of government, and to enforce the observance
of neutrality on the part ofthe Spanish commandant at the point ofthe bayonet if need be. He had removed his
headquarters to Fort Montgomery, where by the first of November his command consisted of one thousand
regular troops and two thousand militia, mainly from Tennessee and Mississippi in all, about three thousand
men. With these he set out for Pensacola, and on the evening ofthe sixth of November encamped within two
miles ofthe town. He sent in Major Peire, bearing a flag of truce to the Governor, with a message that
Pensacola must no longer be a refuge and camp for the enemies ofthe United States, and that the town must
be surrendered, together with the forts. The messenger was fired on and driven back from Fort St. Michael,
over which the British flag had been floating jointly with the flag of Spain. The firing was done by British
troops harbored within. Governor Maurequez disavowed knowledge ofthe outrage, but refused to surrender
his authority. The next morning the intrepid Jackson entered the town and carried by storm its defenses, the
British retreating to their ships and putting off to sea. Fort Barrancas was blown up by the enemy, to prevent
the Americans from turning its guns upon the escaping British vessels. The Spanish commandant made
profuse apologies, and pledged that he would in future observe a strict neutrality.
Jackson, fearing another attempt to capture Mobile by the retiring fleet, withdrew from Pensacola and
marched for the former place, arriving there on the eleventh of November. At Mobile, messengers from those
in highest authority at NewOrleans met him, urging that he hasten there with his army and at once begin
measures for the defense of that city. Information had been received by W.C. Claiborne, then Governor of
The BattleofNew Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 10
[...]... declined the offer He then had them loaded on a flatboat and slowly floated to their destination, when there was little or no hope of their arrival in time for use At the date ofthe final battle at NewOrleans they were afloat somewhere near the mouth ofthe Ohio River, and of course did not arrive until many days after all need of them was over On the twenty-ninth of December, General Jackson wrote to the. .. any one going out ofthe camp, and a line of sentinels was extended to the wood for the same purpose The Battleof New Orleans, by Zachary F Smith 28 The above details show that there were of Jackson's army on the left bank ofthe river, on active duty, about forty-six hundred men; yet on the battle- line ofthe eighth of January there were less than four thousand to engage the enemy The remainder were... various points From official reports and historical statements derived from British sources, there were present and in the corps ofthe British army of assault, on the morning ofthe eighth of January, about eleven thousand men, fully eight thousand of whom were in the attacking columns and reserve on the left bank ofthe river, the flower ofthe English army THE BATTLEOF SUNDAY, THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY It... DAYBREAK; THEY BEGIN THE ATTACK THE TheBattleof New Orleans, by Zachary F Smith 35 BATTLE AND RETREAT About sunset on the evening ofthe seventh, General Morgan was notified ofthe intention ofthe enemy to cross the river by Commodore Patterson, who had closely observed his movements in the afternoon Before day-dawn on the eighth, the General received information ofthe enemy landing on the west... up the works this sugar was used Rolling the hogsheads towards the front, they were placed in the parapets ofthe batteries Sugar, to the amount of many thousand pounds sterling, was thus disposed of On the morning of January 1st, a thick haze obscured the sun, and all objects at the distance of a few yards, The Battleof New Orleans, by Zachary F Smith 24 for some hours Finally, as the clouds of fog... hundred ofthe number There were, at this time, nearly two thousand brave and willing men within Jackson's lines, whose services were lost to the army and to the country for the want of arms The dangerous delay ofthe arrival ofthe troops, and with this, the failure ofthe arrival ofthe arms and munitions necessary to equip the men for service, had their beginning in the culpable negligence ofthe War... day But the British officers magnified the importance ofthe presence of himself and his regiment with their fascines and ladders ready for use Even with the help of these devices, there were not men enough in the English army to have crossed the ditch, climbed the parapet, and made a breach in the breastwork line ofthe Americans Some of them might have reached the ditch alive, as did some of their... six to nine feet of water at the bar, according to the flow ofthe tides Its principal branch is Bayou Mazant, which runs to the southwest and receives the waters ofthe canals ofthe old plantations of Villere, Lacoste, and Laronde, on and near which the British army encamped, about eight miles below NewOrleansThe banks of these bayous, which drain the swamp lands on either side ofthe Mississippi,... the woods ofthe swamp, were a continual terror to the British sentinels and outposts Clad in their brown hunting-dress, they were indistinguishable in the bush, while with their long rifles they picked off some ofthe British daily The TheBattleof New Orleans, by Zachary F Smith 22 entrenchment line was being daily strengthened A SECOND ATTEMPT TO BREACH THE AMERICAN WORKS, ON THE FIRST OF JANUARY... These served the English as pilots to their barges, as guides to the best approaches to New Orleans, and as ready spies within and without The English commander in charge sent Captain Peddie, ofthe army, on the twentieth of December, as a spy in the disguise of one of these fishermen, to inspect and report upon the feasibility of entering with the army at the mouth of Bayou Bienvenue, landing at the . The Battle of New Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Battle of New Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith This eBook is for the. Slaughter, 174
The Battle of New Orleans, by Zachary F. Smith 5
THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
GULF COAST CAMPAIGN, PRECEDING THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
On the 26th of November,